Hi,
I am on a sort of mission. My father is a pharmacist (I myself am an
electrical engineer <G>). He has seen me use the internet for all sorts of
stuff. He would like to know what type of resources are on the Internet for
pharmacists or the medical field in general. There is a possibility that his
company may want a connection to the net. So I am tring to find out various
sources of information, databases, etc. I checked for a FAQ for this
newsgroup, but there doesn’t seem to be one. Any information you have would be
appreciated.
–
Mike Hripko
Ohio State University
hripk…@osu.edu
I graduated in pharmacy in 1960 and by then pharmacognosy had already
taken a rather limited role in our education. It was taught more to
prepare us for the state board exam than for any real-life application.
My father, of blessed memory, graduated ad a pharmacist in 1921 and
he had been much more extensively trained – albeit that the college
program was half as long in total – in pharmacognosy and in making
botanical preparations. His theory was that the cause of decline in
botanicals in the US was the prohibition (of alcohol). Pharmacists found
that the ethanol that was allotted to them for preparation of tinctures,
extracts etc had a more profitable market for recreational use. At the
same time drug manufacturers, while selling botanical preparations, saw
a lucrative market for patentable proprietary synthetic drugs and began
to emphasize those in their manufacturing and in their promotional
efforts.
In seeking more knowledge about botanical drugs I found that the best
sources of information are (1) homeopathic manufacturing pharmacists
and (2) The anthrosophic (Weleda) pharmacy in Spring Valley NY. I
recall very fondly watching Mr. Borneman Sr. go through his dozens of
trays of slides showing medicinal plants and telling which phase of
the moon, what kind of weather, which bulls or dogs chased him while
collecting them, etc. Now that Mr. Borneman has passed on, I would
nominate Julian Winston, chief historian of the National Center for
Homeopathy, fastest banjo player in Pennsylvania, Associate Professor
of Design at Philadelphia University of the Arts and builder of
fine pedal steel guitars; as the best medicinal herbalist I know in
Eastern Pennsylvania.
| Stephen Dubin VMD, PhD | |
| Biomedical Engineering & Science Institute | Phone: 215-895-2219 |
| Drexel University, Philadelphia PA 19104 | Fax: 215-895-4983 |
| email: dubi…@duvm.ocs.drexel.edu | |
In article <2rs1kj$…@search01.news.aol.com>, jenandm…@aol.com (JenandMike) writes:
(snip!)
> related to botanical drugs or non-vitamin supplements containing
> compounds of biological origin.
> I am interested to find out if pharmacognosy (the branch of
> pharmacology dealing with natural drugs) is still included in the
> curriculum of accredited U.S. pharmacy schools.
Why yes it is. It has little to do with "non-vitamin supplements"
whatever that means.
> If yes, why is it then that the U.S.P. contains far less botanical
> preparations than the pharmacopoeias of other countries like
> Germany, France,Switzerland etc.?
Many drugs have an original natural source. Many of todays
medicinals are analogues of natural products. You may find
it difficult distiguishing between drugs that come from
natural sources & those that do not.
that is to say have a ‘natural origin’.
> The U.S. has clearly two markets for pharmacological active
> compounds. One is the drugstore (with pharmacy) and the other the
> health food market (or vitamin store ).
The FDA refuses to support health claims of vitamin
maufacturers because of the lack of evidence. Few scientific
trials have been performed. Recent trials have shown the
antioxidents have no benefit over placebo in modifying
cancer rates in Finnish heavy-smokers.
> It was just recently, that U.S. pharmacies have (re)entered the
> highly lucrative market of biological drugs or "dietary supplements"
there are many biological drugs which are not dietary supplements.
what’s your point?
> . Is the U.S. pharmacist prepared to assist the public in how to use
> such phyto-therapeutical agents?
are they "therapeutic agents"??
John T.Robicheau School of Pharmacy
Pharmacodynamic Research University of Pittsburgh